Lenten Journey

For Orthodox Christians, the Lenten season is a journey to Great and Holy Pascha—the Resurrection of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ.It is a journey that is unique for each who embarks on it, but one which is never made alone, rather with the whole of the Church.Through its services and hymns, the Church has fashioned a spiritual map, a well-worn path, maintained and trod for centuries by ascetics, mystics and the humble faithful.

In preparation for the Lenten Journey, the Sundays of the Publican and Pharisee and the Prodigal son are set aside to introduce the themes of humility, true prayer, and forgiveness which are revisited throughout the forty days of the Great Fast leading up to Holy Week.Each Lenten service offers additional spiritual opportunities, returning us to the community of the faithful and restoring our strength for the journey ahead. In participating in chant and prayer, Orthodox believers strengthen each other in the task of shedding the old self, mired in sin and worldly attachments, so we may fully participate in the new Creation brought about by Christ’s death and Resurrection.

These Lenten hymns inspire and challenge us to the real work of repentance, to literally turn ourselves around from a life enslaved to the passions, to a life directed toward and animated by the Triune God.The selection of music, from generations of theologians, writers and poets, offers the ideal of Eastern Orthodox prayer and spirituality set to simple Byzantine melodies that take root in our hearts. The Church sings the theology that brings us, the faithful, to God.

Lenten Journey marks the fifth musical offering of The Boston Byzantine Choir—now in its twentieth year under the direction of Charles R. Marge.The BBC is a pride of our Diocese of New England and is a source of joy and delight for those who are blessed to hear its music. May God bless this endeavor and all those who make use of it, to the Glory of God.